FC Dallas winger Brek Shea, whose star dimmed somewhat in 2012 following a breakout season the year before, is on his way to Stoke City in an attempt to secure a transfer to the English Premier League club.

Stoke coach Tony Pulis was quoted saying, "He was touted as a very good player who's played for the national team and he's coming over for a week so we can take a look at him."

Brek Shea in the English Premier League? It might not be a stretch. (AP Photo)

Stoke City already has two Americans on the books, defender Geoff Cameron and midfielder Maurice Edu, who was just sent on loan to Turkish club Bursaspor.

Reports on both sides of the Atlantic have differed on the state of the agreement between Stoke and Dallas and the amount of money involved. ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman was first to the story, revealing Friday that Stoke is set to pay a transfer fee of about $3.5 million once Shea has negotiated two days of physicals and fitness testing. The 22-year-old struggled with injuries throughout the season and had surgery in November to remove a sesamoid bone in his right foot.

Soccer by Ives reported later that Stoke offered some $3 million and that Dallas had yet to accept the offer. On Saturday, the UK's Sky Sports claimed a $4.8 million fee had been agreed to, pending Shea's return to fitness.

Shea signed a contract with FCD in the spring of 2011 that tied him to the club through 2015. He was paid $354,000 last season, a year after finishing third in balloting for the MLS MVP award. He failed to follow up on that performance, however, and endured a difficult 2012. He was suspended in May for kicking a ball at a linesman and later had a public falling out with coach Schellas Hyndman, who has a reputation for cutting loose those players who challenge his authority. Shea finished the MLS season with three goals and two assists in 21 games.

U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann suggested several weeks ago that in Europe, a struggling young player in Shea's position would be reassigned to a club's reserve team. But Klinsmann didn't entirely turn his back on Shea, who appeared in six U.S. matches in 2012. All three of his starts occurred last January and February, but he played as a reserve three more times in August and September.

FC Dallas declined to comment Friday. Stoke is in 10th place in the EPL at 6-6-11.